Annihilation: Book 05 - Searcher (34 page)

“Is there debris where it might have exploded or been hit by a large asteroid?”

“No, there is no evidence a planet ever existed in that orbit.”

“Could the planet possibly be hidden?”

“I don’t know how they could hide a planet but if they could then it is hidden quite well; I cannot detect anything in that orbit.”

“Launch our attack craft and distribute them around the star in the orbit that planet should be in. Let’s look all the way around the star.”

“Launching ships, First Fang.”

Matt, Melanie, and Stem sat on Aladdin and watched the feed from the probe as millions of attack craft move toward the orbit from which the planet was just moved.

“What do you think they will do?”

“I’m not certain, Al. My guess is that they will be pretty confused. If it were me, I would move on to the next planet. We could keep them jumping indefinitely since they only have one mother ship in our universe. It would be a different story when the full fleet arrives.”

Stem listened to Matt and thought, “I think I might have a way to really confuse them.”

“What’s that, Stem,” Matt asked?

“What would you do if you don’t find a planet in this system?”

“I don’t know; I might go back and look at the last planet and see if there was any evidence of celestial damage that I missed.”

“What if we move that planet out of the system and when they go look for it we move it here.”

Matt chuckled, “Yeah, that would be fun but we don’t want them communicating with the main fleet that planets are being moved. We could do one thing; we could hide the planet and when the ship goes back to report it missing turn off the screen when the mother ship comes looking. I suspect they already think we can hide planets or they wouldn’t be jumping to these systems.”

“Why would you do that?”

“Melanie, I’m hoping they will leave a ship at the planet and then go back and look at the second system. When they leave for the second system, we should be ready to teleport in and try some of our new weapons on the ship they left in the first system. They may just send a ship back to the first system to make sure it’s still there. Either way, it may offer an opportunity to attack another ship. Stem, if we can make this happen, I’ll need a portable star drive to jump the ship away if we kill it; we won’t be able to teleport it.”

“You’re assuming we will be able to kill it.”

“If we can’t, I’d rather find out attacking one ship than the whole fleet.”

Stem leaned to the left and said, “You make a good point. That is if they do what you think they’ll do.”

“Let’s see what happens. They may just go on to the next system but if it were me, I’d want to take another look at that dead planet to see if it matches the one that’s missing.”

“Matt, I’ll check with Sprig and see if we have a ship ready for combat operations.”

“Good idea, Al; the ship the invaders send will probably be a transport.”

“It will be, Matt.”

Stem looked at Melanie and asked, “How do you know that?”

“They’ve lost two small ships already; they won’t take the risk of sending that type of ship alone in a system.”

The Sensor Male listened to the attack craft reporting their findings; nothing. He looked at the data from the first harvest and the planet was green and full of life. Several different species were not far from developing intelligence. What could have happened to make it disappear? He looked at the planet they had investigated before arriving in this system and compared it once more to the planet that was there during the last harvest. Then it struck him, “There’s not enough water.”

The Ship’s Male heard him, “What did you say?”

“I was just examining the last planet and compared it to the data we have from the last harvest and there’s not enough water on the planet.”

“What do you mean?”

The Sensor Male sent a picture of the planet from the last harvest and one taken on their flight into the previous system. He looked at the two and he had to agree, there were much bigger oceans during the last harvest. “Could the water have been locked up in the polar ice caps?”

“I didn’t really scan them to make that determination. May I dispatch a ship to go make that scan?”

“Send a transport. What are you thinking?”

“I’m not sure, First Fang; I wonder if it’s the same planet. As I look at the two, I can see differences that just haven’t had enough time to happen.”

“You know massive changes can happen in just a million years? The last harvest was eight million years ago.”

“Yes, but that water has to be somewhere.”

“It might have gone underground.”

“I hadn’t thought of that.” The Sensor Male thought a moment and then said. “I would still like a better scan.”

“Then send the ship.”

“This just in for your viewing pleasure; a transport is heading out to the jump limit,” Al reported.

“Where, Al?” Al adjusted the feed and focused in on the large ship moving toward the outer system. “Boy, you picked that one ship right out; I’m impressed.”

“Don’t swell his head bigger than it already is, Matt. The probe is set to alarm anytime one of their ships changes their direction dramatically from the others.”

“Fly Girl, who asked you in this conversation?”

“Oh relax; we know you’re smart.”

“Al, what does Sprig say about a ship being ready?”

“The Megaship Rossville has finished its trials and is ready if we want to take a shot at them.”

“That ship was Admiral Dorg-Ross’s old ship,” Melanie said.

Matt looked at her, “Really; are you sure?”

“Oh yes, I know everything about the Cainth Admiral. Remember, he’s the one that ordered the colonists killed on Ross.”

“Do you hold a grudge about that, Melanie?”

“Absolutely not; he paid for his crime in ways that he should not have endured. My people love the old Admiral and I hope that someday I’ll have a resting place close to his.”

“Well, his ship is coming and I think I want to be on board to watch.”

“Not without me,” Melanie said.

“Or me,” Stem said.

‘Or me,” said Al.

“Or me,” said Fly Girl.”

“I can see Melanie and Stem going on board. Just how are the two of you going to fit?”

“Matt, their landing bay will hold six ships our size; it won’t be a problem.”

Matt shrugged and said, “Get it approved with the ship’s Captain and let them know that my crew and I will be joining them on their arrival.”

After a few minutes Al announced, “It is approved; they’ll be teleporting in about one hour. They’re currently loading the live penetrator rounds.”

Everyone looked at each other and could see each other’s excitement. Matt could feel the need to kill the coming ship.

C
aptain Leonovitch Alexander Kosiev looked over his command board and watched as his crew reported their readiness for battle. He thought about what his ship was about to undertake and his mind was full of concerns about the success of the mission. He was also concerned about the observers that were going to be present. “I hope I don’t mess up anything.” He put that out of his mind and focused on the task at hand. “Weapons, I want the first penetrator fired at optimum range. Set your range correctly.”

“Aye, aye, sir.”

“Ensign Mendel.”

“Yes Sir?”

“Have your team ready to place the portable star drive as soon as the all clear is given. We need to move it quickly if the attack is successful.”

“We’re standing by and ready, Captain.”

Leo looked over at his sensor officer and said, “Lt. Sen-Gen, make sure the red screen stays active during this exercise and make sure it’s extended to maximum distance during the firing of our weapons. I want them to have as little warning as possible before impact of our penetrator.”

“I’ve set the screen to expand automatically upon firing, sir. The penetrator should be at two thirds speed when it leaves the coverage of the screen.”

Leo looked at his board and said, “We will be teleporting to the Hugon system in five minutes. We will now go to full alert.” He pressed the red button on his console and the ships intercom began announcing, “Battle stations. All hands to battle stations.” Most of the crew was already at their posts but the alarm let them know that the Rossville was going back to war after twelve hundred years of lying dormant. The crew felt the tension and was impatient to go into action. Leo looked at his display and then said to Sen-Gen, “Count it down, Lieutenant.”

The huge Glod pressed her com and said, “Teleport in 5.4.3.2.1, port.”

The Rossville appeared in the Hugon system and took its position halfway between the jump limit and the planet.

“Permission to come aboard, Captain.”

Leo looked at his display and saw Prince Gardner, “Permission granted, Your Grace. The landing bay is clear for your ships; the coordinates have been sent.”

Aladdin and Wings appeared in the landing bay and Matt, Melanie, and Stem stepped out and was greeted by three Red Warriors in full battle armor. “Welcome aboard, Prince Gardner, Admiral Grace, and Seed of Sprig. The Captains apologizes for not welcoming you personally with the full crew but we are currently at battle stations and he requests that we take you to the bridge.”

Melanie returned the salute of the warriors and said, “We understand, Team Leader, carry on and we will follow you.”

Al sent a thought to Fly Girl, “This is a big ship.”

“Not as big as the defender class but I can tell that this one is built for speed. They built them strong in the past.”

“You’re right. Notice that this crew is focused on their jobs. The Captain runs a tight ship.”

“He should, Al. He is a direct descendant of Admiral Kosiev. He doesn’t have the psychic skills to be a searcher but he sure has what it takes to command one of these ships.”

“Let’s be nosey and see what’s happening on the bridge.”

“I’m already listening.”

“You over achiever.”

Fly Girl laughed and sent a feed to Al to listen in.

Leo saw Matt enter the bridge and said, “Crew, Atten-shun.”

“As you were,” Matt said. “Please carry on your duties Captain.”

“At ease, return to your duties,” Leo ordered. He then bowed to Matt and saluted Melanie.

Melanie returned his salute and said, “Carry on, Captain. Tell us what you’re planning.”

Leo returned to his command chair and pressed a switch which illuminated the central screen on the bridge. He turned a toggle and a strange looking device appeared on the screen. “This is the penetrator that the Algeans have developed for the transports.”

Matt looked at it and said, “I don’t see the cross in the center that was on the first model.”

“That is only for the penetrator that will be used to hit the invader’s small ships. This one is quite similar to the one that we are developing to use on the mother ship.”

The three visitors walked forward and looked closely at the screen. Leo used his board to highlight different areas. “This penetrator was originally powered by Coronado Power cells and was the fastest weapon ever used during its time.

Stem thought, “It was very effective against the ships my race used during our war with the Realm.”

Leo nodded, “It reached half the speed of light in its flight. This new penetrator is externally similar but it is powered by a red generator. It will reach three quarter light speed in its brief flight.”

Matt whistled, “That is fast, Captain. What is the range of this weapon?”

“There really isn’t a range except that it will have to be fired by visually aiming it. We still don’t have a sensor that can electronically track them. We do have optical sensors that will home in on the color of their ships which means the sensor will be most effective if they are coming toward the star in this system and we are between them and the star. If they are between the star and our ships then they will be dark on the side away from the star and the optical tracking won’t work.”

Stem thought while looking at the device, “How much distance does it take for it to reach full speed?”

Leo looked at the Algean and said, “That’s the other limitation; in order for the penetrator to make it through the hull of a transport it must reach full speed. It will take fifty miles for that to happen. It probably won’t work inside that distance. It will work best at seventy miles.”

Matt looked at Leo and said, “That’s going to be a tough shot if you have ships flying erratic paths during battle.”